Unfussy Wine Enthusiasts | Wine Reviews & Articles

So, I have gotten this idea from somewhere that we should lay down a nice bottle of age-worthy wine to enjoy with the kid when he turns 19 (legal age here in Nova Scotia).  The challenge is: 1) Not spending the kid's college fund on the wine. 2) Finding a great representation of the 2013 vintage (either Northern or Southern Hemisphere). 3) Trying to foresee if the kid will actually even be remotely interested in drinking a stupid bottle of old wine with his lame parents (if they even use the term lame in 19 years). Regardless, we are trying to figure out which wine might to the trick.  First or second growth Bordeaux or Burgundy don't match point 1 so they are out.  Given what we have found out about the harvest in the Southern Hemisphere, it looks really good.  Maybe really good Argentinean Malbec or Aussie Cab Sauv or Shiraz? The Northern Hemisphere is a few weeks away from being in full harvest mode.  But, there are early indications of good things...

This is a wine grape that there is not a lot of origin information about.  It would seem from the name that this might have some level of connection to Cabernet Franc.  This seems to hold up in spirit as Jancis Robinson has mentioned it as "Cabernet Franc to Touriga Nacional's Cabernet Sauvignon".  That certainly is good enough comparison for us.  This grape is also known as Touriga Francesa which is not what is on the label so there you go.   Casa Santos Lima is a located 45 miles North of Lisbon and they grow (if the translation is correct) a whopping 50 different varieties in their vineyards (some of which are experimental). We were pulled in by the idea of it being a Portuguese version of Cab Franc but we also haven't seen a lot of single variety wines from Portugal.  Douro and Dao are red blends so this makes it doubly interesting. This is considered a medium bodied wine, but once you take a look at in the glass it seems like a bit fuller...

So we really like Portuguese wines.  We like the rustic nature of the reds and crisp and minerality of the whites.  We like Douro Tinto, Vinho Verde, and we like Dão wines.  We especially like the prices.  We have been fans of Portuguese wines for a while and in many ways the price and quality hit a ceiling when you get over $30....strange as that may sound.  We reviewed the Calabriga version not too long ago, check it out here .  This wine clocks in at a sale price of $14 down from the regular price of $16 which gets us off on the right foot.  This wine from Borges Wines  is part of the Dão Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC) appellation.  It is a blend of Touriga-Nacional, Jaen, Alfrocheiro and Tinta-Roriz (no percentages given). In the glass it is a very dark wine....you can't see through it.  Call it Garnet or Black Cherry or any other colour that would indicate dark purple.  It foretells of the dark...

This was a long weekend purchase and one we have tried previously but seeing as the weather is coming around we figured it would be a nice wine with dinner.  We really like the Vinho Verde wine which is not a grape it is literally translated as 'Green Wine'.  It is just that...a young green wine.  It is light and fruity and crisp and delicious. It is a very pale light yellow, greenish colour (thus the name)...which is a little thin looking. The nose is green as well though this time it is green fruits, light ones.  Kiwis and a little lime zest start things off with a nice Granny Smith apple undertone....see green. When you taste this wine it becomes clear where the Verde comes from.  It is a crisp and tart wine like an apple that is three days from becoming ripe.  The way the skin puckers your lips is the way the wine acts when you taste it.  Pucker then a touch of sweetness then a nice crisp finish.  Very nice.     Tasting No...

We unfortunately had a wine that we purchased for $20 that had a full-on moldy cork. So, we decided to take it back to the store and it was gladly returned. We took the opportunity to upsell ourselves on a wine we had seen advertised in the Wine Spectator. The Sogrape Callabriga Dao is almost $29 locally. Once we opened and decanted it we noticed that it is either unfiltered or it has thrown a lot of debris in the seven years since it was made. The sight in the glass is extremely cloudy and there was a lot of debris in the glass. So we are leaning towards unfiltered. We were absolutely enthralled by the nose on this wine.  It is amazing...full of dark fruit and oak (not vanilla....oak).  It smells so attractive and fragrant it makes you want to drink it. Wow... First off, let's just say that the flavour on this wine is really great.  It is, however, not as great as the smell.  There is a slight disconnect on the palate compared to the nose.  We reall...

NOTE: the label looks to have been changed This wine is not bad....not bad at all.  We spent exactly $10.49 on this wine ($1 Off) and it really is pretty tasty.  Will it win Wine of the Year?  Probably not, but is it worth drinking....yup.  We have tasted and briefly review the DAO version on the Blog but this is the first time for this wine from Alianca . Cherries on the nose and on the palate make it a nice drinking table wine.  Dry but with some pretty good acidity and a little bit of body.  It is thin overall but still quite drinkable and great with food. It is not an overly complex wine though it does have some flavours that make it taste more than it costs for sure.  For sitting around drinking a bottle of wine for little money, it is a cinch.  The complexity is mainly lacking on the nose where it could use a bit more umph.  The flavour profile is actually pretty good all things considered.  The body in the glass looks t...

We have had a number of unique wines in 2012 but tonight's might be the leader thus far.  Tonight we had a 2008 Casa Santos Lima Foral de Lisboa from Portugal which is made of Castelao, Touriga Franca and Syrah.  Overall a really tasty red wine.  It smelled like Black Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream and that is no joke.  It was a round wine with balanced tannins and just enough acidity to make it spicy.  It was a great wine for $13 and really is a surprise.  We felt like the wine tasted more like a $25 wine.  Overall it is a buy recommendation. So, the question goes over to you.  What is your top wine taste for 2012, or more like, what is your wine of the week?  It is THAT early in the year.  It could be $5 or $50, it doesn't matter what is turning your head this week? Keep on drinking! Chris & Shannon

We can all recognize that there are many, many wines that are north of $25 that are spectacular.  They are quality wines made by quality winemakers and really hit the mark on all aspects of taste.  The price is a function of many things, size of harvest, overhead of the winery, reputation, and so on.  But, what happens when you get a wine that is over $25 that you anticipate drinking or has been recommended and when wine hits glass it is "meh"?  To us, that is so disheartening not only for the cost of the wine but for the fact that a winery is charging what could be considered a premium price for something that does not come with premium flavours. I know one particular circumstance, we ran into at a recent wine festival.  We tried a Portuguese Dao wine that had a price tag of $62.99.  This was very early into the show so our palates were definitely not overwhelmed.  That wine was at best, okay.  But, ...